It's hard to breathe in anymore
by nerdie
Summary: Breathing. It just seemed to get harder and harder for Nico. Much more of a task. A chore. An annoyance. Something he would be totally fine doing without.
1. It's the calm before the storm

**so uh if you read my drabble collection fic, this is the beginning to the second chapter...so yeah. woo jasico**

**the song is Calm Before the Storm by Hollow Point Heroes. You should listen to it. **

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><p>A flame. Everything starts with a flame-a spark. Be it life, be it death, be it love. Everything does. Everything will. Even a self destructive path has a beginning. And this particular one, starts with a very literal <em>spark. <em>

**XxXxX**

Sulking in the shadows. Nico didn't do much other than that. He never wanted to go to any parties, especially not after _that night_, but he sure as hell couldn't let his sister go alone.

Sure his sister had Frank. Sure his sister was only his half-sister. But Nico couldn't stop himself from wanting to protect Hazel, from wanting to _be _there for her. Her mom died, and their father was never around. Nico had lost people, too. And Hazel was simply too innocent to be abandoned for a third time.

And Nico couldn't bear having to relive _that night_. So when Nico saw Hazel all dressed up and about to fly out of the door, he freaked a bit.

"Hazel!" he gasped, rising to his feet and turning off the TV. "Where ya going?" he asked, stepping forward a little. He cocked his head slightly in confusion, but there was a small inkling of fear churning in his stomach.

"I'm...going on a date with Frank," she lied through her teeth.

"Hazel," Nico said, shaking his head. "You're the worst liar ever and I'm your older brother. So where are you _really_ going?"

"It's...it's a party…" she said quietly.

Nico felt something grab hold of his heart. "A-a party?" he stammered.

"I mean, it's still technically a date with Frank…"

"Where is it?"

"It's at Dylan's house," she said reluctantly.

"Dylan? Dylan Sutnev?" Nico demanded angrily. "He's a senior, Hazel. A _senior_!"

"So is Frank!"

"So what? You're a _freshman_, Hazel!" Nico found himself yelling and swallowed his anger. "It's just...I don't want you to get hurt."

"I have Frank," she offered, seemingly trying to dig her toes into the floor.

"Frank is as harmless as a _butterfly_ and as cuddly as a stuffed _animal,_ Hazel. I'm not letting you go-"

"Nico!"

"-alone," he finished. Hazel looked a little dumbfounded as a "what" passed through her lips. Nico sighed and walked over to rest a hand on his sister's shoulder. "I'm not letting you go alone," he repeated. "So I'll go with you."

Nico walked to their side door and grabbed his coat on the way out. He turned around to see Hazel still standing there. "What the hell are you just _standing_ there for?" Nico grabbed her hand and led her out of the door where he saw Frank sitting in his car. They walked down, Nico still dragging Hazel. He knocked on the passenger window. Frank rolled it down. "You have another pickup," he said simply before opening the door and guiding Hazel in. Then he slid into the backseat.

Frank looked at him a little warily, as if he was nervous around him. It was funny because Frank was still two years older than him. "Well?" Nico said. "Let's go to that stupid party."

This. This was his mistake.

**XxXxX**

The party went looked like Nico thought it would. Tons of people, girls all over guys, loud music, and lots and lots of kegs of beer. Once he took a sweep around the house, he saw Jason Grace, Piper McLean, Leo Valdez, Reyna Avila-Ramirez Arellano, and Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase.

Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase.

Percy Jackson.

Nico tried to stay away from them.

He watched as his sister and her big, cuddly boyfriend began to walk away after a tense conversation between the two siblings.

"I don't want to leave you," Nico said, a little distressed.

"Nico, you don't have to worry about me. I'll be fine."

Nico hesitated. He didn't want to leave his sister alone, but he wanted her to have a good time, too. Finally, he relented. "Fine, but stay close to Frank," he had said. "And don't get into any trouble. No alcohol. And I'll want to check up on you sometime. Also, we have to go home at a reasonable hour." Hazel agreed to these rules. Before she left she turned around.

"Nico," she said. "Are _you _going to be okay?"

Nico nodded. "Course I am. I'm the older brother." He gave her a weak smile. She smiled back before grabbing Frank's hand and walking away to talk to Leo. He sighed heavily before scanning the room to find a dark shadow to sit in. He ended up slipping through the throng of people and finding a dark spot in the corner, near a long hallway with various rooms spotting the walls.

He slipped into the kitchen briefly and got a red solo cup filled with lemonade; he vowed not to go near alcohol after _that night_. He watched as people made out, and fought, and cursed, and beat each other up in friendly and non friendly ways. He thought he could actually get through the night.

Foolish, really.

He was about to throw his cup away when a guy stumbled up to him, stoned like nobody's business.

"Yo, kid," he slurred. He took a cigarette out of his pocket. "You gotta try this." He held the stick in front of Nico. He looked at it and made a face at the smell of the object and the guy's breath; they were both horrible. He could also smell something laced in there that was vaguely along the lines of the scent of alcohol.

"I don't smoke," he said simply.

"C'mon, bro. It's amazing."

Nico was about to neglect it for the second time, when he saw the golden couple. Percy slid a hand up to Annabeth's cheek and leaned in to kiss her. She laughed halfway through and he smiled right back. It made Nico feel sick. He guessed he never truly did get over that whole _I-fell-in-love-with-an-idiot-who's-undeniably-straight-and-in-love-with-someone-else-and-also-happens-to-be-my-neighbor_ thing. May he should also mention that he's loved him for four years ever since he saved him from those bullies that one fateful day.

His stomach churned and he looked back at the guy who was offering him the cigarette. "Give it," he said, grabbing the stick from between the guy's fingers.

The guy smiled drunkenly and took out his lighter. He lit a small flame, a spark, and the cigarette was burning. Nico stuck it in his mouth and inhaled. He tried to do it like they did in the movies, but ended up almost choking to death on the smoke. He coughed violently.

"Shit," he gasped.

The guy still had a dumb, high grin on his face. "Woah, dude. First timers," he said, shaking his head a bit.

Nico rolled his eyes and tried again. This time he was more successful, but it wasn't perfect yet. He was barely able to get the smoke out of his mouth before he coughed harshly. He tried a third time.

He was finally able to do it fairly right, and he was amazed at how much he liked it. He blinked a few times before doing it again.

"Dope, ain't it?" the guy said, his eyebrows dancing on his head.

Nico could only nod. "Thanks, guy," he said to him. He was about to turn away when the guy placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Here," he said as he gave him the lighter and the pack of cigarettes. "For later. And here," he paused as he scrambled for a pen and wrote down a number on Nico's hand, "is my number if you ever need any more." He gave a sly grin, and then was off.

Nico stuffed the box and the fire starter in his jacket and walked away, cigarette between his lips. He kept smoking, tapping the end and watching as ash fell to the floor. He started to feel high in his head. He decided that he should get some fresh air.

He sat down on the front lawn, and breathed in the night air. He laid back on the hard Earth, and took another puff from his cigarette. Funny, he never thought he'd get this low. Not again, at least. And he'd been doing so well…

He heard the front door open and close. Nico panicked and threw the stick away from him. He didn't move other than that, though.

"Nico?" came an all too familiar voice.

"Grace."

"What are you doing out here?"

"Too many people. I needed to get away." He left out the part about him smoking. "What are _you _doing out here?"

"Same as you, I suppose." Nico heard as the blonde sat down next to him. He crossed his arms behind his head and used them as a cushion. "It's a beautiful night."

Nico just nodded.

"Do you smell that?" Jason asked. "It smells like a cigarette."

Nico shook his head. "My bad. This dude came up to me, high as Mount. Everest. He was smoking. Guess his stench is still on me. A good shower will help with that."

Jason nodded, seeming to buy Nico's story. "Doesn't surprise me. Everyone seems high here."

"It is a senior party."

"Very true."

Nico felt at a loss for words; he had no idea what to say. The silence seemed to grow louder and he could almost feel it pounding in his ears. "So...where's Piper?" Nico asked at last. The ravenette looked to his right and straight at Jason's face. He saw the way to moonlight sifted through his hair. His crescent scar. Deep, blue eyes.

"She's still inside. Last I saw her she was talking to Reyna and Annabeth."

"Cool. Things going good between you guys?"

Jason nodded. Nico looked back at the sky. He sunk his hand into his jacket pocket, fingers brushing across his newly acclaimed box of cigarettes. He came out with his phone. He hit the home button once, and took note of the time. 12:04.

"Shit," Nico mumbled. "It's that late already?" The boy stumbled to his feet and gave a tiny stretch for his muscles. "I'd better go find Hazel. It's really late. Nice talking to you, Jason," he said as he walked quickly back into the house. His back was facing the blonde, and he didn't see Jason's tiny wave as he uttered out a quiet, "Bye, Nico."

Nico shut the door behind him and looked around the room. He tried to find a big, Asian dude and his sister. His eyes settled on Percy and Annabeth. Again. Kissing. Again. Were they ever not kissing?

Suddenly, there was a buzz in his hand where he still held his phone. He lifted it to his face. a message from Hazel.

_hey, Nico. where are u? I couldn't find you and I got really scared at the party. Frank said he'd take me home. We asked Leo and he said he watched you leave the house. we're back home. r u still at the party? I'm worried._

_~ Hazel _

Nico sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Great, now he'd have to walk home. He shook his head and turned around, marching to the door. He was about to reach for the handle when it swung open and slammed into his nose. Nico staggered a few feet backwards, holding his face with his hand.

"Ow! What the hell?" he said, eyes shut in pain. People paid no attention.

"Shit, Nico!" he heard Jason say. "I'm so sorry! Dammit, I'm really sorry." Nico felt hand on his face and his shoulder. He shrugged them off.

"Nevermind it, Grace. I need to go."

Nico began to walk away but Jason grabbed his wrist. "Wait! Are you walking home?"

"No. I'm _flying _home, dumbass. Yes, I'm walking home!"

"Let me give you a ride! I just damaged your nose. Let me drive you home."

"I'm fine. Besides. What about Piper?"

"Piper? Oh, she's staying over at Reyna's for the night. They said something about watching a movie. Dunno how they're going to stay awake, though, seeing as it's already past midnight."

Nico wanted to decline, but his nose was throbbing and he was starting to feel after effects of his first time smoking and he really just wanted to get home and sleep for a few hours. He nodded reluctantly. "But I don't owe you anything!" he said. "Because you hurt my precious nose."

Jason let loose a pitiful laugh, and Nic had to resist the urge to scrunch up his nose in disgust; he didn't want anything to do with goddamn pity. He allowed Jason to lead him to his car where he hopped in, still reluctantly.

The blonde put on the radio, but Nico turned it to a rock station. Jason didn't object. He let him off at his house where the raven haired teenager quickly checked up on Hazel to breathed out her worry and hugged him, tight, before he dragged himself to his room where he collapsed on his bed.

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><p><strong>this is also on so yeah. give me a review! please. I plan on taking this far. or at least i hope. <strong>


	2. I don't want the world to see me

**second chapter. wee! The song is Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls (which also happens to be their couple song in here haha whoops spoiler alert cough cough i mean potato) Also I didn't really check over this so there's probably a lot of errors. And it gets v rushed near the end. My b.**

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><p>Nico peeled his head off of his pillow and looked around groggily. His eyes finally focused on his alarm clock that read 1:13. He slept that late? He breathed out and cringed at the smell his mouth emitted. Then all the memories from the party the other night came flooding back. Whoops.<p>

He stumbled to the bathroom is his drowsy state and crashed into the corner of the sink. He clutched at his abdomen, a small whimper escaping his lips before he turned on the faucet. He licked his dry lips and then grabbed his toothbrush and put some toothpaste on top. He scrubbed his teeth furiously with the minty substance, spitting occasionally. He turned the faucet off and wiper his mouth with the back of his hand. Then he looked down. Right. His clothes still smelt, too.

He walked back to his room and looked through his drawers, settling on a black shirt (they were basically all he owned) and a pair of skinny jeans matching in color (also basically all he had) and proceeded to fold them into a pile. He laid them on his bed and then he took off his jacket that he'd apparently slept on and stepped on the heels of his converse before kicking them into the closet.

He walked into his bathroom again with a towel and turned on the shower head. He threw off his clothes. A few minutes later, he jumped in and relished in the warm water hitting his tired skin. After about ten minutes, he turned the shower off and hopped out, quickly scrubbing his hair with the towel and then wrapping it around his torso.

Back in his room, he quickly changed into his new clothes. And, finally satisfied that all traces of cigarette smoke were off of him, he made his way to the door. His hand was on the knob before he remembered that there was something in his jacket that would be best thrown away. But Nico couldn't bring himself to do that. So he walked back, balled up his jacket and threw it under his bed. Then he walked out the door.

He walked into the kitchen and took out his phone. He was about to plug it into his charger when he saw the texts he had missed the other night; he'd passed out before he could check again. There was one from Hazel. Four from Jason.

Hazel: _hey, Nico. I went out to go shopping at the supermarket. Frank came with me. I took the family card. I'll be back at about 2:00. love, Hazel _

Nico looked at the time. it was 1:37. Hazel would be home soon. He looked at the texts from Jason.

Jason: _Hey Nico. Did you get in okay? _

Jason: _Sorry about your nose, btw_

Jason: _Are you okay?_

Jason: _Let's hang out today. _

Nico felt his eyebrows scrunch up in confusion as he plugged in his phone and texted back, leaning over the counter.

Nico: _why? _

He set his phone down and walked to the fridge to get apple juice. While he was grabbing a cup, he heard his text tone go off, and out of the corner of his eye, saw the vibrations move the phone over a few centimeters. He finished pouring before grabbing his glass, taking a sip, and walking back to the counter.

Jason: _Because. I haven't talked to you in forver._

Jason: _*forever_

Nico: _yeah, you haven't. i don't blame you, tho. you are the star of the football team and are the boyfriend of one of the prettiest girls in school. i don't expect you to have time for an outlier like me_

Jason: _I'm sorry. I just. Forget it. I'm calling you_

Nico had no time to try and stop it before his phone rang in his hand. Nico sighed heavily and picked it up. "What, Grace?"

"_I'm sorry." _

"I meant it, Jason. I don't blame you. You don't have to involve yourself in a life that doesn't matter to you. You _shouldn't_ have to."

"_But I feel bad."_

"I don't want your pity," Nico said, his words hardening. He didn't _want _anyone to feel bad for him. He hated it. "Just-forget it. Is there anything else you need?"

"_Yes. For you to go out with me."_

Silence.

Nico was glad that he wasn't near Jason as he felt his cheeks begin to burn. Jason fumbled for his words. "_N-_not _what I meant,"_ he explained. "_I meant that I wanted to do something with you today. Let's hang out."_ Nico was about to argue, but the blonde cut him off. "_It's not out of pity, Nico. I just want to be your friend."_

"What if I don't want you to be?"

"_Then you have to suck it up. Because I don't care if you don't want to be mine. I want to be _yours_."_ He halted. "_Again. Not what I meant. But I _do _want to be your friend. So you should just accept hanging out with me. You'll never get rid of me. I'm quite stubborn." _

Nico scoffed. "I knew _that_."

"_Exactly. So hang out with me. We can go get lunch and then see a movie. Say, yes. Nico, say yes."_

"Fine, whatever."

"_Yes! I can swing by your place at, like, 3:00? They're showing _Captain America and the Winter Soldier _at 4:00 at that old theatre. We can grab a bite to eat at Perkins before that. Whaddaya say?" _

"Well, I'd say no, but you won't let me do that so,"

"_Correct."_

"Fine. I'll see you then. Bye, Grace."

"_Bye, Neeks!"_

Jason hung up before Nico could yell at him for calling him that. It was 2:00. He put down his phone and chugged the rest of his apple juice before walking and plopping down on their couch and turning on the television to wait for Hazel. He'd get ready later.

He flipped through the channels before ending up on Boy Meets World. He leaned into the cushions. He thought, deeply, and tuned the TV out-no matter how much he loved Boy Meets World.

Why would Jason ask to hang out now of all times? They'd been going to school with each other for years now. Nico was a sophomore and Jason was junior. Nico had been in several of Jason's classes as he took a couple of higher levels including Italian. They'd only really reconnected last night and really, they'd exchanged a few words, Jason slammed Nico in the face, and Jason drove Nico home in apology. So why would he, Jason Grace, of all people, golden star of both the football team and Goode High, want to "_hang out"_ with Nico di Angelo?

Hazel was late. Nico was just starting to worry when he heard the garage doors open and close before Hazel came into the kitchen, setting down several grocery bags, followed by Frank carrying much more by comparison. "Nico!" she said. She flew over to him in a blink and had her arms enveloped around him in zero seconds flat. "You're awake! You were really tired. I remember, you bonked out only a few minutes after you came into my room. I checked on you. You had me worried." The sounds of Frank setting down the plastic grocery bags rustled in the background as Hazel leaned in close, by Nico's ear and whispered, "You smelled like cigarettes last night. Were you okay?"

Nico nodded and told her the same story he'd told Jason Grace. "A guy came up to me, high on alcohol and cigarettes. I finally got rid of him, but not the smell. I took a shower and brushed my teeth, though. So I'm good now." Hazel nodded, pleased with that answer. Nico breathed a silent sigh of relief.

"So," she said, clapping her hands as he voice returned to normal volume. "I was think that all three of us could do something today! We could go bowling or see a movie or maybe even go to the mall! What do you think, Frank? Sound good? Nico?"

"Well, uh, you see, I already have some plans," Nico said hesitantly. He didn't want to hurt his sister's feelings.

"With who?"

"Uh, Jason Grace?"

"Jason Grace… Really? That's great!" Her eyes lit up. She seemed happy to get Nico out of the house. "Not that it's nice _we _won't get to do anything together, but I'm sure that Jason will suffice. He won't be as fun as _us_, of course," she said with a wink. Nico offered a small smile.

"What time is it?" he asked.

He saw Frank look at his phone quickly. "Uh...2:24," he replied. Nico nodded in silent thanks. "I need to start getting ready. Jason's coming to get me at 3:00." He slipped past Hazel after planting a peck on her forehead and stumbled to his room. He slid out his jacket from underneath his bed. It smelled like cigarettes still. He bit the inside of his cheek. It would have to get washed later. He didn't have time for that right now. He pushed it back under the bed.

He walked over to his closet then. After opening the doors, he began to look for something to wear. He finally spotted a large, black hoodie that he'd forgotten about over the years. He grabbed it and slipped it over his head. Then he walked back into the kitchen to see Hazel and Frank close together, whispering into each other's ears. He raised an eyebrow at them and they stepped apart; he could still see faint traces of smiles on their lips.

Nico glided over to the counter and retrieved his phone, slipping it into the pocket across his stomach after he checked the time. Jason should be getting there in about 7 minutes. He went back to the couch and plopped down to continue watching Boy Meets World, which was coming to a close. A few minutes later the front door rang. He peeked down the hallway to see Jason Grace standing awkwardly on their door, his golden hair shining in the sunlight.

Nico took one last peek at his sister and her boyfriend before going to meet Jason. "Don't try anything smart, Zhang. Or I will personally destroy you. If you even _try_ to taint her, I'll make sure you have nothing to try with again." He left before he could see Frank collapse in a blushing heap, Hazel not close behind, in tears of laughter.

Once Nico had stepped into Jason's car, he heard the pop station on again. "Jason Grace," he scolded. "You need to learn better music taste." Nico turned it to the rock station. It was the Goo Goo Dolls beginning to sing "Iris". "Do you even know who this is? What it's called?"

Jason blushed and mumbled, "No." He pulled out of the di Angelos' driveway.

"Well, it's called 'Iris'. And it's sung by The Goo Goo Dolls. If we're going to be friends, then you're going to have to learn some things." On their short drive to the closest Perkins, Nico discovered that Jason also did not know "The Pretender" by the Foo Fighters and, when he found out that Jason had an iPod jack and plugged his phone in, he didn't recognize Sleeping With Sirens or My Chemical Romance or even Iron Maiden. This might be a handful. Nico pulled out his phone as they pulled into a spot in the parking lot of Perkins.

They walked in together, and Jason was dutifully listening to Nico ramble on about his favorite songs and bands.

"My Chemical Romance was probably one of the first I got into, but they," he paused. "We are not to speak of that incident." Jason gave a confused glance that kinda asked, '_What Incident?' _as he ordered a two person table. Nico didn't respond. That was still a very sore subject. "And after that, I got into Bring Me the Horizon and Of Mice & Men and Memphis May Fire. Bands like that. But there will always be the classics like the Foo Fighters or the Goo Goo Dolls."

"That's a lot of bands, Nico," Jason commented as they took their seats and grabbed their menus. Nico stopped talking and blushed sheepishly.

"S-sorry," he stammered out. "I've been rambling. Must've bored you half to death."

"Nah," Jason replied. "It's nice, y'know, to get to know you a little bit more."

Nico knit his eyebrows together and set his menu down gingerly. "Yeah, I've, uh-" He paused and swallowed nervously. "I've been wondering about that." Jason lowered his menu a smidge and cocked his head. "Why?" he asked.

"Why what, Nico?" Jason asked with a small laugh.

"Why'd you wanna "hang out"? What do you want from me? What's the catch?"

"There's no catch, Nico. I really did just want to see you. I've been needing a friend. It's Christmas Break. And, yesterday at the party, when I talked to you on the lawn, you just seemed really cool. And I thought that you would be a fun guy to hang with. That's all. Honest. I'm a boy scout."

Nico scoffed. "Yeah, right."

"Yeah, I lied. I'm not a boy scout."

Nico laughed as their waiter appeared to take their order. Jason ordered a large burger with a coke and Nico ended up ordering a small, caesar salad with a raspberry iced tea. They finished about forty-five minutes late; Nico hadn't eaten much up his salad, but he drank all of his iced tea. They hopped into the car and Jason drove them to the theatre. They both agreed that they weren't hungry so they passed the snack stand.

As they walked down the corridor to enter their theatre, Nico heard his name being called. He turned around to see two people that he wouldn't have chosen to meet there.

Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase.

Percy Jackson.

What the hell?

"Hey, guys!" Percy called as he and Annabeth made their way over. "What movie are you seeing?" he asked once they were close enough that he didn't have to yell.

Jason nodded to the doors in front of them. "Captain America and the Winter Soldier."

"Us too!" Percy said. Annabeth smiled and Jason smiled back. "Cool," the blonde remarked. "Shall we?" He looked at all of them. Nico followed them sullenly. They sat next to each other in a room that was big, but barely had anyone in it.

The movie was good, Nico had to admit (he liked the Winter Soldier. A lot. How come he'd never seen these before?). But what wasn't good, was seeing Annabeth and Percy making out as they made their way into the fresh air outside of the theatre.

Nico tried not to look at them.

They said their goodbyes and headed their separate ways. Percy and Annabeth were talking and laughing, completely unaware of Nico's pain. The raven haired teenager wished he could hate the blonde girl with stormy gray eyes, but couldn't bring himself to. She never gave him any reason. In fact, she had been one of the only people to stick up for him when he got bullied in school. He just _couldn't_ hate her.

Jason dropped Nico off at his home, said goodbye, and made sure Nico got in okay, but he couldn't shake the horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. Nico walked into an empty house; Hazel and Frank were still away. Nico thanked the gods for that.

He walked into his room sluggishly, slumped beside his bed, and reached for his jacket.

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><p><strong>darn<strong>


	3. advice under the night--morning?--sky

**it's really short and i don't have song for this chapter. sorry. **

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><p>Jason liked hanging out. He liked people for the most part. He liked hanging out at school, after school, away from school. He liked hanging out with Leo and his girlfriend, and Percy, and Hazel, and Annabeth, and Frank, and Piper, and Reyna. They were all great to hang out with.<p>

But Nico di Angelo was different. In a good way.

In a great way actually.

He never talked to him in school, so he guessed that's why he never knew how much he liked hanging out with him. But after they'd had that conversation-brief and random, but a conversation nonetheless-Jason had wanted to know more; intrigued in the dark and mysterious boy he never saw anywhere but the shadows.

But you could say, that those were the boys Jason liked the most.

Except it would be a lie. Jason wasn't that interesting. But Nico di Angelo was.

Jason was very happy when Nico finally agreed to hang out with him. He wanted to have him as a friend and, he would admit it, he was a bit cute. Well...more than a bit. So when Jason called Piper after dropping Nico off and sending him four messages, he begged for help.

"He's actually really cool, Pipes," he said as he sat in his pickup truck, looking at the dark night-morning?-sky. Ever since they'd broken up, Piper had become his personal romance advice-giver. With small inputs from Reyna as the girls were almost always together.

"So then, ask him out," she had responded.

"Piper! I only actually started talking to him yesterday! That's actually pretty sad, but I can't just ask him out! Besides, he might not even be into guys."

"Oh, he totally is."

"How do you know?"

"Gut feeling."

"Piper. Seriously. _Help me_."

"Alright, alright. Calm your panties, Jason. Then how about...asking him out _without_ asking him out."

"What the hell do you mean by that?"

"Hanging out doesn't have to be a date. You could go to a movie, and that would give some more time to get to know each other…"

"Brilliant!"

"And you're stubborn enough to pull it off."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means-" Jason heard Piper yelp in surprise and then suddenly it was Reyna on the phone. "It means that Nico will say no. He'll try to get out of it. Trust me. I know that kid. So you're stubborn enough to make him say yes. And when he does, make sure you're nice and charming and funny. Because you seriously need a boyfriend and so does he."

"U-uh, okay," Jason said, swallowing thickly.

"Kay, well Piper and I have to go. There's a few movies calling our names. See ya, Jason. Call us if something happens." And then all Jason could hear was _beep beep beep. _

He cursed and put his phone away. It was time to activate phase one of his plan, "Befriend Nico di Angelo".

Hanging out with Nico was fun. Jason surprisingly loved hearing Nico perk up and talk about all of his favorite bands because it made Nico happy. Jason had never actually seen Nico smile, and he found it quite depressing because it was such a beautiful smile.

At the theatre, though, he could suddenly feel unrest coming off in waves from Nico when Percy and Annabeth came along. Jason couldn't help becoming a little uncomfortable when he saw them as well. Whenever he saw them together, he felt a little bit of a pit develop in his gut and he couldn't help but think of that little bi curious crush he had gone through a few months back. But that didn't explain why Nico was upset.

After the movie, when Jason dropped Nico off, he realized that he still didn't want to leave him. But he said goodbye anyway and made sure Nico got into the house safely. Then he drove away and called Piper.

It took about five rings before she actually picked up.

"Pipes?"

"Yeah, Jason?" She sounded a bit out of breath.

"Are you having fun with Reyna? What exactly are you doing over there that's got you so out of breath?" Jason asked with a smirk.

"Oh, shut up! We just went for a run. Now talk because I have to take a shower."

"Alone?"

"_I will hang up this phone, Jason Grace_."

"No! No, okay. I got it. I'm good. It's about Nico."

"Oh, really? How'd it go?" She seemed pretty interested now.

"It went okay actually. But we ran into Percy and Annabeth at the movies."

"Oooh. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, Nico seemed upset, though."

"Maybe he's the same as you."

"Doubt it. But he was really fun to hang out with."

"Then hang out with him again."

"I want to. But when's a good time to ask again. Because I mean, I can't ask _today_."

"Uh...I'd say give him a few days. Or maybe tomorrow, if you're really eager, you could host a dinner party with everyone. I know that me and Reyna are free until next week. BUt you'd have to ask Nico and the others. Or maybe, you could ask Nico to help you plan it." Jason could practically _hear _the "wink wink, nudge nudge" at the end of that sentence.

"Yeah, that sounds good. Thanks, Piper. Remember to use protection."

Jason hung up before Piper could yell at him, or worse-get Reyna on the phone.

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><p><strong>i told you it was really short and i suck<strong>


	4. cooking sessions with Nico

**as always, i didn't beta this and ended up making it longer than intended. i don't have a song and i blame jason bc all his chapters so far ended up being fillers and i HAVE ZERO SONGS FOR THIS. a lot for nico though**

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><p>Jason wanted to see Nico again. But, like he'd talked about with Piper, he waited two days. He texted and he tried to learn new things about Nico. Surprisingly, he'd learnt that his favorite color isn't actually black. Jason was almost in denial; the amount of black that kid wore would've said otherwise. It turned out to be a sunset orange, and Jason found that quite soothing.<p>

He also learned that Nico's favorite TV shows were either sitcoms or crime shows. They'd connected on Friends, the Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Criminal Minds, Castle, the works. Nico liked many bands, and Jason had taken the liberty to listen to them all. Some were...a little more hardcore than Jason thought he could stand, but others were actually pretty good. When he told Nico the ones he liked, he had told him that Jason was into some of the classics.

On the second day, Jason called Nico.

"Nico?" Jason asked, fiddling with the hem of his shirt as he leaned against the wall adjacent to his bed.

"That's who you called, isn't it?" Nico scoffed sarcastically but _was that a trace of a laugh_? Couldn't be. Right?

"Yup!"

"Kay. Then why."

"Well, Nico. I was thinking of organizing a little dinner party tonight and was wondering if you wanted to help."

"Must I?"

"Well we can't very well become good friends if we never hang out."

"Who said I wanted to become good friends with you?"

Jason placed a ginger hand atop his heart, even though he very well knew that Nico couldn't see him. He spluttered dramatically, like a fish out of water. "I-buh-_well_! You have _wounded_ me! I will have you _know_, that I am one of the best friends you could ever get. And though you deny it verbally, I'm sure you don't mentally. I mean, who could resist _me_?" Jason said jokingly.

"Oh, dear. Looks as if I was right. You're just a dumb, narcissistic blonde jock," Nico retorted back.

"I hope you don't really mean that, Nico. I may never recover if you do."

Jason heard Nico scoff and imagined he would be rolling his eyes at this point. But he took that as Nico's version of laughing. "Whatever, Grace. So what of this little dinner party you mentioned?"

Jason's smile widened. Nico was letting him in. "Well, since we are on winter break, we might as well make it Christmas themed-" Jason stopped as he heard Nico mutter something on the other line that sounded a bit like, "cliche" before smiling and continuing. "and we can watch a movie later or something. Nothing big; just close friends. With good food and snacks and fun times. Y'know. Make it as cliche as we can," Jason said with a smirk.

"Sounds horrible. I wouldn't want to go."

"Good. That means the others will."

"Good one, Grace. Pick me up in ten. We'll go shopping," Nico said before hanging up. Jason felt strangely happy, because it seemed Nico was getting to be more friendly with him. Jason stood up and walked quickly down the steps of his house, grabbing his keys and jacket on the way and walking briskly into the frigid air.

Jason pulled to a stop in front of Nico's house and turned the engine off. He fumbled with his phone in an attempt to call Nico and tell him he was here, but the ravenette seemed to have beat him to it. Jason looked outside the window when he heard a door open and close crisply. The blonde took in mentally how big the di Angelo house actually was. It looked more like a mansion.

Jason smiled as Nico made his way across his lawn and hopped into the pickup. "Waiting for me, were you?" Jason smirked, starting his car again. Nico said nothing as he scrunched his eyebrows together slightly, breathing silently as if he were a secret agent in a James Bond movie. The music was pumping softly through the old radio in the truck and Jason froze as well, wondering what Nico was doing.

After about half a minute, Nico became animated again. He nodded his head in what seemed like approval and gave Jason a thumbs up. "Good. You're learning," he commented. "And I'll have you know, I wasn't waiting for you. I simply knew you were coming and saw your truck pull up. How do you miss something like this? It's a wreck."

Jason laughed heartily at Nico's observation. "Hey, don't insult my baby girl! She's a precious old friend! You're going to offend her."

Nico scoffed before pulling a folded up piece of paper out. "I wrote a few things that you'll probably need. And if you need to, we can host it at my house. It's surely big enough."

"Are you sure? I'd feel bad. I don't want to make you do something like that."

"It's fine. The house gets pretty lonely with just me and Hazel living there."

"Okay, thanks," Jason said. He was actually glad it would be at Nico's house. Jason's house was pretty big, sure, but his mother and father weren't the warmest people. Jason could hardly stand them and he sure as hell wouldn't want his friends exposed to them with their brooding faces, harsh comments, and high expectations that _Jason did everything correctly_.

Nico nodded as if to say, "you're welcome". "So you'll need snacks of course. And if we're making it cliche, get chips and salsa. You could also do pigs in a blanket. Some doritos, too. For dinner we could have salad, some main entree like ham or something, and sides. Mashed potatoes, cooked vegetables. And a grand desert."

"Wow, Nico. You seem to know a lot about what to get." Nico shrugged. "There is one problem, though. I don't...I don't really know how to cook," Jason said, rubbing the nape of his neck embarrassingly.

Nico rolled his eyes. "I was counting on that. Don't worry. I'll take care of it. But we should probably head out now. We should also probably let everyone know and see who can make it." Jason nodded. He quickly punched in his password and gave Nico his phone.

"You can send out a text in a group chat."

Nico nodded. He went to the messages app and began scrolling through Jason's contacts. Jason began on the route to the nearest grocery store. Halfway there, Nico spoke up. "Okay, so I have Leo, Reyna, Piper, Hazel, Frank, P...Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase." Nico seemed to stumble over Percy's name. Jason swallowed thickly.

"Sounds good."

Nico read the text he began to make out loud: "'I'm having a cliche, shitty-ass dinner party tonight and you're all invited! Woo. Fun. Cliche everything included. It'll be great. - Jason.' Sound okay?"

Jason shook his head and laughed. "No, Debby Downer. If you text that out, nobody's going to want to come. How about: 'I'm having a dinner party tonight for Christmas and want you all to come. We'll have dinner and dessert and watch some movie or something. If you can come, get back to me!'"

"Ew. Fine. Whatever, Grace. I think mine was better, but oh well," Nico remarked as he deleted his previous invite and typed what Jason had provided. They pulled up to the store and Jason shut off the engine again, getting out of the car. They made a short trek across the parking lot and shuffled into the store. Jason grabbed a cart.

"Piper and Reyna said they could make it. They also asked where it was. Should I just give them my address?"

"Yeah. Say it's your house, too," Jason said as he walked through the automatic sliding doors and pushing the cart along. The wheels rolled against the hard tile noisily. He walked into the produce section first.

"Okay. Nico. I have no idea what we need."

Nico scoffed again and started ahead of the blonde, giving him the phone on the way. "You man that," he instructed. "and leave the shopping to me." Jason nodded and looked down to see that Leo had responded as well.

Leo: a party you say? well i guess i have to come. it's never a party without a valdez there. and im the only valdez you know. so i'll be there. what time?

Jason laughed at his best friend. Typical Leo response.

Jason: About 5 i'd say. I'd have to check with Nico.

Leo: nico? nico di angelo?

Jason: Yeah, he's helping 2

Leo: really. didn't know you guys were friends now

Jason: Kinda. We just recently started hanging out. But he knows about cooking so I'm glad he's helping

Leo: i'm glad now 2. if you were cooking...i get shivers at the thought

Jason: Shut up, Valdez

Leo sent a devil face emoji and Jason counterattacked with the emoji that was rolling its eyes.

Leo: okay. i'll be there then. bye jace. have fun with ur new "friend" ;)

Jason shook his head and looked up to see Nico coming back with an armful of vegetables. He saw peas, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, and green beans. He also had a bag of potatoes, a bag of lettuce, some tomatoes, and picked up some weird nut things.

"Leo can come," Jason informed the raven haired teen. "I told him that it would be at around five tonight. That okay?" Nico gently relived his load into the cart.

"Yeah, that's fine. Now we're going to need a main dish. What do you want? Turkey, ham, chicken? Tofu?" Nico actually smiled at the last option, and Jason laughed at Nico's joke. He almost missed it from the reeling shock that Nico di Angelo just smiled at Jason. It wasn't a sneer, but a smile. Well, it looked a bit like a smirk as well, but Jason would take it.

"Ham is the most cliche choice, so let's go with that."

"Ham it is," Nico agreed as he made his way over to the frozen and dairy aisles. Jason followed behind. Nico picked a relatively big ham and set it down in the cart with another package of meat. He also grabbed a couple blocks of cheese. He went down the aisles, grabbing a ton of different things. Half of them, Jason had no indication of what they were. He got several other texts and learned that everyone could be in attendance for the dinner party except for Frank and Hazel who hadn't replied yet.

By the time they were finished, Nico had filled up most of the cart. Jason pushed it to a register as Nico pulled out his wallet and fished some bills out. Jason frowned. "What are you doing?" he asked as they both began to load all of their items onto the conveyor belt.

"Well, Jason," Nico began slowly, as if he were talking to a kid. "When you buy things, you have to pay for them. If you don't-"

"That's not what I meant, idiot. I meant why are you paying?"

"Because I'm the one who filled the cart to the brink. I'm not gonna let you pay."

"Too bad, bub. Build a bridge, and get over it."

Jason laughed. "C'mon, dude. Let me pay."

"No."

"_Nico_."

"Alright, fine."

Jason smiled as they finished loading the last of the items onto the belt to be checked out. Jason wormed his way to the end and began to bag everything. When it came to pay, the total was $157.86. Jason was in the midst of getting his wallet out when Nico handed over a wad of money including one hundred dollar bill, a fifty, and a ten. "Keep the change," Nico said as he began to lift the bagged items into the cart again.

"_Nico!_" Jason protested,

"Did you really think I'd let you pay? Idiot." Nico smiled a little again.

The teenage girl behind the cash register giggled. "I'm sorry. You two are so cute. How long have you been together, if you don't mind me asking?"

Jason felt the heat rise to his cheeks and was about to start blabbering about how no they weren't together they were just friends and-

"We're not together," Nico said, smile fading.

"Oh," the girl said, blushing. "I'm very sorry, sir."

"it's fine. You didn't know." The girl went back and began to check out the next customer and Nico and Jason walked away, rolling the cart back to the car. Jason looked behind him and wait, was that a blush on Nico's face?

The car ride back to Nico's was relatively silent, save for the quiet music playing from the rock station. They got out of the car and grabbed all the bags before making their way across the large, green lawn and into Nico's mansion-house. They set the bags down on the counter when they got in.

Nico turned on all the lights he could and illuminated their large kitchen area. Jason immediately noticed that the TV was on, and Frank and Hazel were curled up on top of the couch with a blanket thrown over top of them.

"Nico?" Hazel asked.

"Yeah," he replied before making his way over to the living room. He cocked his head and raised an eyebrow at their position. Jason craned his neck to see what was happening. Poor Frank looked like a deer caught in a pair of headlights. Jason guessed Nico was kind of intimidating to him, even though the guy was like a freaking bear and two years older than Nico.

"What's up?" Hazel asked, speaking as though she didn't think anything of how she and her boyfriend were sitting.

"Nothing much," Nico continued. His suspicious face didn't dissipate, and neither did Frank's anxiety did it seem.

Hazel leaned forward, noticing that Jason was watching them. "Hi, Jason!" she said sweetly, sliding a hand from underneath the blanket and waving at the blonde. Jason smiled and waved back. He always did like Hazel.

"What are you guys doing here?" she asked, looking back at her brother.

"Didn't you get the text?"

"No? We left our phones in my room."

"Oh." Nico raised his eyebrows again as if to say "What were you doing in your room?"

Hazel narrowed her eyes as if to remark back, "We didn't do anything, Nico. Jeez, you're going to scare Frank even more."

Jason guessed Nico had understood by the way his eyes sparkled, telling Hazel, "Good." Hazel stuck her tongue out at him.

"What are you doing here, then?" Hazel asked.

"We're having a dinner party here tonight. I need to start cooking. We just finished shopping."

"Awesome!" Hazel replied, eyes glistening. Jason maybe thought that she was happy because Nico was actually doing something. "Do you need us to get out of your way?"

"No, you're fine. We're just going to start, if you don't mind."

"Nope! Have fun. Looking forward to your cooking, as always, Nico!"

Frank remained silent, blushing furiously. Nico smirked at him and walked away, meeting back up with Jason. The blonde spoke in an undertone. "You're evil, Nico."

"I know." He walked to the stove and began to prepare all the food. He turned the stove on and preheated the oven, listing what he was doing to Jason as he took out several different cooking instruments and spices. He then asked Jason to do various jobs for him. Grate the cheese, mash the potatoes, cut the tomatoes. Jason did the small, easy jobs, as Nico took on the big tasks. Increasingly, the kitchen was filled with a delicious scent of food wafting throughout the entire house. Jason's stomach began to grumble smelling all the different food Nico was conjuring up. Nico seemed to notice this.

"I'm sorry, you're probably hungry. Would you like anything?"

"No, it's okay I-" he stopped as his stomach grumbled again. Nico laughed lightly.

"I'll make you something."

"No, it's fine. You already have enough on your hands."

"It's really okay, Jason. Everything has to cook for some time now. We have a few hours before everyone starts to come. What would you like?"

"Anything really."

"Well, we have a lot of leftover tomatoes...have any food allergies?"

"No."

"Great," Nico said as he reached into a lower cabinet in the kitchen. "Help yourself to a drink from the fridge, Jason," Nico instructed as he pulled out a griddle. He grabbed an extra tomato and brought out some basil. Jason nodded and made his way over to the fridge, grabbing a small pitcher of lemonade. "Hey, Jason?"

"Yeah?"

"While you're in there, could you grab me a few things?"

"Sure, what to you need?" Jason replied, setting the beverage on the island behind him.

"In the top drawer there should be some mozzarella cheese and on the bottom shelf there's a bag of bread. Get that for me, will ya?'

Jason did as he was told, bringing it to Nico. "The cups are in the far cabinet over there," Nico said, pointing with his free hand before grabbing what he had asked for. Jason got a cup and poured himself a glass of lemonade.

After ten more minutes, there was a plate with a wondrous smelling panini. "Bon appetite," Nico said. Jason thanked him and his stomach twisted into knots at the smell. It looked absolutely delicious. He took a bite, relishing in the taste. It was better than anything he had ever tasted. Before he knew it, he had finished the entire thing, feeling completely content.

"Jesus, Nico. Where'd you learn to cook like this? That was the best thing I think I've ever tasted."

Nico bit his lip. "Well, after my mom died and my dad left with his new wife. I learned to cook a lot because I needed to make food for me and Hazel. After that, I picked up some skills. Glad you liked it."

"Are you going to eat anything?"

Nico froze. "Uh, I'm really not hungry. I've been cooking for a few hours, and I feel full. I'll eat later tonight."

Jason narrowed his eyes; it had been three hours since Nico had eaten anything. Jason hoped he was okay. Not getting sick or anything. "Okay," he said hesitantly.

Nico turned away as a beeping sounded out. Nico threw on some oven mitts and opened the oven before pulling out three trays of pigs-in-a-blanket. The crust was a perfect golden brown. Nico really was an amazing cook.

Nico went back to close the oven and made a circle around the island, grabbing Jason's plate on the way. He picked up a spatula and scooped one of the orderves onto his plate before returning it and getting another plate from the cabinet. He scooped two onto it and brought them over to Hazel and Frank. "Try it in a few minutes, guys. Let them cool."

Jason nodded and watched as Nico returned to resume cooking. He slid out his phone and looked at the time. 4:19. They had a little more time before everyone showed up. Jason looked at the appetizer and picked it up, blowing on it. Then he took a small bite. The taste exploded on his tongue and he smiled. Suddenly Nico was behind Jason, tapping him on the shoulder, making Jason jump a little. Nico rolled his eyes. "How is it?" he asked.

"Really good, Jesus Christ, Nico."

"Good," Nico replied, taking a set next to the blonde. "The ham still has to cook."

Jason nodded, happy that Nico was finally getting a rest from all the cooking. "Thanks, Nico."

"For what?"

"For this."

Nico cocked his head and Jason closed his eyes, a smile on his face.

"Why are you smiling, idiot?"

"No reason."

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><p><strong>there was zero angst but a little more bonding. i ended up cutting the part i wanted to get to, but you'll get that next chapter in Nico's POV ;) leave thoughts if you so choose to <strong>


	5. pictures of black and grey

**i actually have a song for this chapter! it's called Black Lines to Battlefields by Acceptance. It may be too deep for just the_ beginning_ of the problem ;) as always i hope it's not shit and i didn't beta it blah blah blah you get it. also, there's actually angst in this chapter! woo!**

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><p>Leo arrived first. Nico wasn't happy about that. The doorbell rung and Jason graciously answered it, as Nico was still busy cooking.<p>

"Jason!" a voice yelled. Nico groaned, recognizing it immediately. How could he not when it was the center of "humor" every day in class? "Something smells good!"

"Yeah, tell me about it! Nico's been cooking all afternoon and I've had to hold myself back from jumping on it and scarfing it all down!" Nico heard Jason say as pairs of footsteps slapped against the hallway floor that led to the kitchen. The ravenette forced himself to focus on the food.

"Nico? I didn't know he cooked."

"Neither did I."

Nico slipped a pair of oven mitts on and opened the oven door, bracing himself against the oncoming heat wave. He slipped his hands in carefully, trying not to burn himself. He gripped the sides of the pan and began to pull it out, pulling diagonally. He almost dropped the ham when his bare flesh hit the side of the oven. He hissed in pain before quickly pulling the rest of the food out of the oven. He gingerly set it on the island countertop before slamming the door shut. He pulled off the gloves and set them on the stove top.

"Ooo!" Leo said, rubbing his palms together. "Smells awesome, bro!"

Jason laughed before seeing Nico wince as he gently touched his arm, where the faint color of red was. His smile faded.

"You alright?" he asked.

Nico nodded, biting the inside of his cheek. "It's nothing. I just burned myself a bit. It happens all the time."

"Should probably run some cold water over that," he advised; Nico was already at the sink and turning the faucet. He stuck two fingers under the running water, checking that the temperature was cold, and stuck his forearm underneath the cool liquid. He breathed a small, barely audible sigh of content before turning off the tap. He shook his arm over the sink, getting the beaded water off of his skin before turning back to Jason and Leo. Leo's hand was close to the ham, and Nico called out a warning.

"That's hot. Stay away." He made his way over and picked up his mitts again, sliding them over his hands and grabbed the ham away from Leo's lustful watch. He set it to the right of the stove stop. Nico looked back at Jason, who smiled at him. Nico didn't return it. "The cake still has to cook for a little bit more. But the ham, the sides, and the orderves are ready to go. Help me?"

"Mm." Jason made his way around the island and appeared beside Nico who gave him a plate of several dozen pigs-in-a-blanket before grabbing a bag of chips. He trekked to the fridge and took out three different cups of guacamole, salsa, and cheese dip. He set them out on the island beside the others and an two empty bowls. Into one, he emptied out a bag of Tostitos chips. In the other, a bag of Doritos.

"Alright. We're good for now. Thanks, Grace."

"No problem."

Nico looked at his fiddling hands as Jason made his way to go talk with Leo again. Nico bit the inside of his cheek again, before heading off to set the table.

Percy and Annabeth were the last to get there. Jason and Piper and Reyna and everyone else were all chitter chattering loudly. They even put on music to play in the background. Nico could have choked on the cliche atmosphere. Nico pulled out the two layers from the oven as he heard the doorbell ring.

"I'll get it!" Hazel announced, her petite footsteps sounding as she ran to the door to invite the last of the guests into the house. Nico could hear her cheerful voice even over the din of everything else. "Hi, Annabeth! Hi, Percy! Come in!"

Nico breathed out methodically as he tried to not feel any emotion. He heard three different footstep patterns walk into the kitchen. Nico stupidly turned around, and, of course, caught the stare of Percy Jackson who smiled at him and mouthed, "_Hey, Nico." _

Nico quickly looked away as that dreaded feeling appeared in his gut again. He focused on the cake. He had already finished icing it and had left to decorate it. He felt a presence appear behind him.

"Yeah?" Nico asked, almost bitterly.

"Hey," came Jason's voice. Nico turned around. "What are you gonna put on it?" he asked, nodding to the cake in front of the ravenette.

Nico turned back around and picked up the icing decorator, filled with black icing. "I dunno. I was contemplating putting an obscenity on it."

"I don't think Hazel would stand for that."

"Damn." Jason laughed heartily and Nico had to force himself to not focus on how _good _it sounded. "What do you think I should put on it?"

Jason held a hesitant hand out. "May I?" Nico raised an eyebrow but gave the blonde the instrument anyway.

Jason hunched over the cake, and with a careful hand, created a ' :{D ' with the icing. Nico rolled his eyes and groaned loudly.

"Well now you've gone and ruined it, Grace," he joked. Then he felt taken aback at how he'd _joked_. How easily he _could_ joke with Jason.

"I think it looks nice." Jason's voice jolted him out of his thoughts. He held a finger beneath the fine tip and swiped icing into his mouth before Nico could stop him because he had previously forbidden Jason from eating anything to do with the cake until the end. "And it still tastes amazing."

"I forbade you."

"I un-forbade myself."

"You're a dictator without the tator."

Jason laughed again, louder this time, and Nico took note of how the scar of Jason's lip curved into a crescent, how wrinkles showed up in the corners of his eyes, how his white teeth were exposed with no hesitation from the owner of them, and how melodic the sound of Jason's laugh was. Could laughs be melodic? Apparently.

Nico shook his head. No. This was no going to happen again.

"I like that one," Jason commented. "I think I'm going to use that one."

Nico shook his head and grabbed the bag of icing back from Jason. "Now no more. And go away. I have to finish the cake," Nico instructed, unscrewing the end and switching it with a different one. "Bye, Grace."

Jason laughed and held his hands up in surrender. "All right, all right. Now what I really came here for was to ask if you needed help with anything."

"After what you put on the cake? No thank you. Go choose a movie to put in or something."

Jason nodded and started away. "Thanks, Nico," he said.

"I told you to stop thanking me."

"Fine. Bye, Nico. Looking forward to dinner."

"Oh yeah," Nico said. "Make sure everyone doesn't eat too much. They need room for dinner."

Jason nodded in understanding before making his way to the living room to carry out his job. He barely go five feet before Leo intercepted him and began running his mouth again. Jason waved him over to the TV before he dropped to his knees and began to sift through the di Angelos' wide range of movies.

Nico finished icing the cake and turned around just as he saw the credits for Mean Girls appear. Nico didn't even know why they had that stupid movie. "Grace!" he called out. "What the hell?"

Jason winked at him from the living room and Nico sighed in exasperation before turning back to the cake. He carefully picked it up and placed in in an already cleared up space in the refrigerator.

Nico caught Jason's glance and waved him over. He said something to Leo probably along the lines of, "Be right back," before jogging the short distance to the stove top where Nico was and had been for the past three and a half hours.

"Yeah, Nico?" Jason asked, glancing at the arrangement of food all over the kitchen area.

"Dinner's ready. So, like, should I serve now? Or wait…?" Nico asked. He had never hosted a dinner party before (shocker) and had no idea what to do. He had a feeling that his would be more of Jason's department.

"Yeah, sure. I'll call everyone over. Then I'll bring the food to the dining room. You can go sit down."

"No, it's okay. I've got that part."

"Shut up, Nico. You've been on your feet and cooking for almost four hours straight. You more than deserve a break." Nico wanted to argue more, but then Jason called out loudly, "Dinner's ready! Go to the dining room!" Then he smirked at Nico and reached for the oven mitts. He slipped them on and grabbed hold of the ham, slowly making his way over to the table. Nico hoped he didn't drop it.

The ravenette disobeyed Jason's orders and reached for the mashed potatoes and assorted vegetables, following the blonde to set everything down at the table. When Jason turned around and saw him, he made a face. Nico easily returned it. Jason smiled, and Nico _almost _smiled back. Jason brought the salad last.

Everyone took a seat: Hazel next to Frank, Frank next to Percy, Percy next to Annabeth, Annabeth next to Reyna, Reyna next to Piper, Piper next to Leo, and two open seats next to each other for Jason and Nico. Nico shyly took his seat next to Hazel, leaving the seat next to Leo for Jason.

Jason took his seat, and it was then that Nico remembered that they hadn't poured any drinks yet. "Oh, yeah!" he said, standing up abruptly. "Uh, what would everyone like to drink?"

"Nico," Percy said kindly. "You've done a lot. I'll get the drinks."

"I'm fine, Jackson. It won't kill me," Nico snapped back.

Percy sighed, probably used to these kind of hostile responses from the ravenette. "Fine, Nico. But I'm helping you, and you can't stop me."

"Whatever," Nico huffed. Percy stood up, grinning. They took everyone's drink orders, and disappeared into the kitchen. "Oh," Nico began, poking his head back into the dining room. "YOu guys can start eating. We'll only take a few minutes." Everyone murmured in agreement, and Hazel called out, "Thanks, Nico! It looks great!" Nico smiled inwardly at his sister's cheerfulness before joining Percy at the fridge.

Nico was taking a few peeks at everyone who were stocking their plates full of food. Nico subconsciously focused on Jason who was taking a good share of food onto his plate, and talking to everyone at the table. Nico almost smiled at how easily he could talk and fit it. Certainly the golden boy. Percy's voice jolted him out of his thoughts.

"You did a lot here," he commented as he pulled down cups from the cupboard, bringing some to Nico who was standing in front of the fridge.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I guess. It was Jason's idea. All I did was the cooking part."

"Still. I don't think that was just any other feat. You cooked a lot. And God knows it smells amazing."

"Thanks," Nico mumbled, grabbing two drinks they'd already filled up and taking them to the table, giving them to Hazel and Frank first. Five minutes later, everyone had drinks and were all seated again. They were all eating, with piles of food on their plates. Nico was almost happy that they seemed to be enjoying it.

"Hey, Nico," Jason whispered into the raven haired teen's ear.

"What?"

"Aren't you going to eat anything?"

Nico froze and stared at his empty plate. He fiddled with the napkin on his lap, and twiddled his thumbs. "'Mnaungree," he mumbled.

"What?" Jason said, setting his fork on his plate and turning his head subtly more towards Nico.

"I said I'm not hungry."

"Are you okay? You're not sick are you? If you were, I wouldn't have had you help so much. I feel bad."

"I don't want your pity! And I'm not sick." Nico tried to keep his voice down as he didn't want to raise any suspicion in the people at the table, albeit Hazel who was always stealing sideways glances at him.

"You haven't eaten all day, Nico."

Nico shifted in his seat, secretly digging his nails into his palm, trying to ground himself. "Fine," he mumbled.

Jason beamed. "Good." He took Nico's fork and gave him a piece of ham-small, thank God-and a small helping of mashed potatoes with vegetables. Followed by a small side salad. "I expect most of this to be eaten by the end of the night.

"Whatever, _Mom_," Nico spat, taking his fork from Jason's hand. He tried to show his anger in his words, but couldn't seem to make himself stay angry at the blonde for very long. Jason looked smug as he went back to his own meal.

"It's really good, though, Neeks," Jason said.

"Don't call me Neeks."

"Nikki."

"You're playing with fire."

Jason laughed, gaining a curious look from Percy sitting diagonally from them. Nico began to pick at his food, eating small portions bit by bit. Even though it was slow, Jason seemed to be pretty happy as he kept looking over and smiling encouragingly at Nico. The latter would simply roll his eyes and resuming his routine of picking at the ham, then the potatoes, vegetables, salad.

It had been a long, chitter filled dinner and after about an hour, and even Nico had eaten what was on his plate (forced by Jason, of course). Finally, people were cleaning off their plates and resorting to dialogue to occupy their mouths. Nico pushed his plate away and stood up. "I'll get dessert," he announced. He walked briskly into the kitchen again, going into the fridge and taking the cake out. He set it on the island. Then he raided through his drawers, looking for the proper utensils he'd need to cut the cake. He brought them to the table and saw several of the guys making googly eyes at the chocolate dessert.

Nico made another trek to the kitchen for what seemed like the millionth time that day and grabbed the small cake platter and a handful of forks, bringing them back to everyone.

"Captain America," Nico said, nudging Jason's shoulder with his elbow.

"Yeah?"

"Go ahead and start cutting and serving. I have to take a trip to the bathroom.," Nico said. He left without hearing Jason's response. He walked out of the room and walked up the steps to the second floor. He'd hope nobody would mention how he was going up the second floor bathroom rather than the first floor. But maybe nobody would care enough to even think.

Nico walked back down the steps, five minutes later, with the taste of toothpaste still on his breath. He heard everyone talking as normal, and saw that the cake was still in the middle of the table. Nico cocked a head at Jason who shrugged and smiled warmly. "We didn't want to do it without you." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Percy smiling and nodding along with Jason's words. Nico silently took his seat. Everyone seemed to look at him expectantly. He dug his nails into his hand again.

"What? Don't tell me you don't know how to cut a cake."

Everyone laughed. Nico dropped his gaze to his hands quickly, squeezing as hard as his could. He tried to keep his breath steady. Jason placed a surprising soft hand on Nico's shoulder. "I'll do it. I think I can actually do this."

Nico didn't say anything.

Jason cut the cake, giving everyone a medium sized piece. Finally he got to Nico, who shook his head. Jason raised an eyebrow. "I can't possibly eat anymore." Nico could have cried in relief when Jason nodded reluctantly, and set the utensils down.

"Dig in everyone!" he said.

There were several, "Oh my god"s, and "Wow, Nico"s, and "This is delicious,"s. Nico fiddled with the hem of his sweatshirt, unsure of really what to say. He finally settled on the very intelligent, "Thanks?"

It was silent for a few minutes, with everyone eating. "I didn't actually think I'd ever taste your cooking, Nico," Percy said. Nico shrugged.

"Yeah, you're a great cook, Nico," said Reyna, almost surprising him. He was given various other compliments, and he blushed; he'd never been praised this much by this many people. Everyone began to polish off dessert and Percy pushed his plate away, tapped his belly once, and then yawned, putting his arm around Annabeth in the process. Nico looked away. How cliche.

He unmeaningly found his gaze locked with Jason's. "You okay?" he mouthed. Nico nodded. Then he stood up and began collecting the dishes he would have to do later. He brought all he could for the first trip to the sink and set them down in a soft clatter. When he turned around to make a second trip, everyone was already lined up and holding their own dishes, setting them down on stop of Nico's pile, smiling as he kept a slightly surprised face. Jason was last, laughing at Nico's expression. "Should we watch a movie?" he asked. Nico nodded, shaking himself out of his stupor.

They all migrated to the living room, Leo already on the floor in front of the TV, looking through the piles of movie. Nico followed everyone, standing next to Jason who took a seat in a large chair near the left of the room. He raised an eyebrow at Nico and the ravenette could tell he was about to ask if he wanted to sit, so he quickly shook his head 'no' before the blonde could open his mouth. Jason let it go, but gave him a suspicious glance.

Nico watched as Leo slid in The Internship. Then his gaze moved over to see Percy nuzzling his nose endearingly into Annabeth's neck. She was laughing, and so was Percy. They looked so happy together.

Nico tore his gaze away, trying not to freak out. Just breathe through it, he told himself. He bit his lip. Percy finally seemed to register what movie that had been put in. "Wow, Nico," he said. "You've got some pretty good taste in movies."

Nico tried not to blush as he bit his lip harder, not replying. A few seconds later, he noticed Jason staring at him. His expression must've been priceless as Nico internally fought with himself. "Cute," Jason murmured, before his eyes widened to match Nico's. Nico felt his heart skip a beat, and he started to back away before quickly walking up the stairs. He popped into his room and quickly grabbed his jacket before rushing back downstairs and slipping out the front door, unaware that Jason was already tying his shoes back on.

He sat on a park bench now, not far from a park. He watched people walk by, but found himself not caring. Maybe it was the cigarette placed between his lips taking away his worries for the time being. He reflected on the day as he took a long drag from the cigarette.

He stuck his hand into the pocket of the jacket that lay across his lap, noting that there was only about three cigarette left in the once full box. Had it really gotten that bad? It had only been a few days. Dammit.

He inadvertently thought back to what Jason said. He tried to ignore the way his heart seemed to stutter at the thought.

He pulled the stick from his mouth, breathing the charcoal colored smoke into the air slowly. He remembered the day that Bianca had went to the party, unable to stop the emotions clawing to surface as he took another drag. She had always been protecting from different things. Maybe this is what his sister wanted him to avoid. Oh, well.

It's not like she was around for it anyway.

Nico blew the smoke out again, relishing in the relief when he felt a presence appear behind him. "Can I help you?" he asked scornfully.

"You shouldn't smoke, Nico.

Nico groaned internally; he knew that voice. How could he not when he'd spent the entire day with it? "What do you want, Grace?"

"I was looking for you. You had me worried. Hazel wanted to come too, but I convinced her not to."

Nico almost wanted to say thank you, but he was still trying to get some shit sorted out. He tried to keep his breathing level as well as his heart rate. He just wanted to ignore the way his heart was acting right now.

"I'm not dead, so you don't have to worry."

Jason took a set next to Nico on the wooden bench. He pointed at the cigarette in between Nico's fingers. "You will be if you keep _that _shit up." His face was frustrated. Angry, even. Why would he care?

"Listen up, Captain America," Nico began, pausing to take a smoke. "You didn't have to come out here. I just needed some air. I don't need saving."

Jason's angry face didn't waver. No smile, no laugh at the nickname Nico called him. "I think you do."

"Like hell I do. You don't even know the real me, so you have no place in making my life even an _iota_ of your goddamn business."

Jason took the cigarette straight from Nico's clutch and held it away from him. He raised it to his own lips.

"What the hell are you doing, Grace?" Nico said stoically. Even though something stirred inside him, he sure as hell wasn't going to reveal that he was actually worried about the idiot's well being.

"If you keep smoking, then I'll do it, too. I'll do it until you quit."

What really worried Nico about Jason's remark, was that it was a _total_ Jason remark. And he wouldn't be bluffing. He would actually do it. "What good would that do? You've got your entire future set up for you. Going on this self destructive path would ruin it for you, wouldn't it?"

"And it wouldn't ruin it for you?'

"There's a plethora of difference between you and me, Grace. And one of them, is the fact that a kid like me doesn't _have_ a future."

"Bullshit."

"True-shit."

"I can help you," Jason offered, voice softer as he lowered the stick slightly.

Nico fought the urge to make a grab for it. He forced himself to keep his arrogant expression, but he could feel it flicker briefly. "No one can help me...I mean...I don't _need _help." He made a lunge for the stick. Jason held it out of his reach and raised it to his lips again. It was only centimeters away and wasn't stopping.

"Grace!" Nico yelled.

Millimeters away, but now it was at a halt.

"Fine. You get your wish. You can try and help me. But it's not going to be easy.

"I wasn't planning on it."

* * *

><p><strong>wow even a cliche ending everything's just so cliche<strong>


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